Would you trade Lowry for this year's #12 overall selection?

Basically asking if you think the Lowry trade was worth it. Some mocks have Michael Carter Williams in that spot; others have CJ McCollum, Dario Saric, Kelly Olynyk or Gorgui Dieng going in 12ish territory.

If your selecting "Yes", reply and state who you'd pick and why.

If your selecting "No", reply and tell us how far up the draft board you'd go in exchange for Kyle. That is, what's the pick # where you would no longer want to trade Lowry? You could also include which high lottery pick you're targeting.

I struggled with this because I'm not much of a Lowry guy, but I'm also not crazy about this draft. I do like MCW, but not sure I'd take him over Lowry (for the next couple of seasons, at least) and I'm not sure he'll be there at 12.

Here's the guys I'd deal Lowry for:

Noel
Burke
McLemore
Porter
Oladipo
MCW (ok, i decided to include him)

Top picks I'm not crazy about include Bennett, Len, Muhammad, and Zeller.

So given my list, I'd trade Lowry for #6 and hope one of my bolded players is still on the board.

I wouldn't do it. Rather stay out of this terrible looking draft rather than spend a roster spot on a guy who will not come in and start while leaving a gaping hole at point. Lowry is being written off far too soon by the raps faithful IMO and he's better than he's been given credit for.

I have no problems with the Lowry trade because this draft is weak.. but if Lowry is not the long term answer at PG here then it was a bad trade (and we won't know for another year if that's the case).

Draft picks are assets. They don't have to be used to pick a player, but they can be used in trades to improve the club. Harden may have come to Toronto if we offered a package that included that pick.. but we didn't have it any more.

I'd rather have Harden over DeMar and Lowry for example (assuming they were part of some hypothetical trade).

Now saying that, if I had to make the trade all over again and I could choose which draft pick I would be the least comfortable with that went back to OKC via Houston, then I would choose the 9th. And that would be purely out of principle considering we had the 8th seed last year in a year we tanked. To have the 8th seed again but to give it away would be heart breaking, even for someone like Lowry.

And I have not been paying attention to this year's draft. Didn't watch much NCAA ball this year, so my opinion on who we should draft in the top 8 is not something I could do.

I've said it before, but if you look at this draft, there's pretty-much no player who you can look at and say 'put that guy on the Raptors and they'd instantly be a better team'. And if you're looking to trade into the draft, you really need to consider need. This draft has decent centers but nobody who compares to Valanciunas. Wings who would be buried on the bench behind DeRozan and Gay. And no disrespect to MWC and Burke, but no elite PGs. Both are guys I like but they're also projects who I don't think will be starters for a couple years. All of which is to say the only players in this draft I would trade Lowry straight up for are McLemore and Noel. And even if you make either of those deals, then you need to make other moves to fill our PG hole.

Top 5 pick. Weird how people call draft picks assets, yet forget that Kyle Lowry is a great asset. Expiring and on a high value deal. I'm thinking we'll keep him but I think Lowry currently has more trade value than the #12 pick. We won that trade any way you slice it.

Craps

I don't think it matters much either way. No one can sit here and tell me the Raptors are guaranteed anything picking 12. I don't need a refresher on who's gone at 12; there have been many highs and many lows when you get out that far...

Of course we're all going to vote for the pick after that season but this wasn't the sentiment I was hearing in here from the majority when the trade went down.

They're stuck with it so I'm not going to torture myself thinking about what could have been if they kept their chair in the crapshoot.

I really think his being overrated. He reminds me a lot of Austine coming out of Texas.

Really? Trey Burke reminds me a lot of a smaller Deron Williams. Attacks the rim, deceptively strong, very quick, great range, good handle and passing ability. Defense leaves a little to be desired though at times, considering he is smaller and shorter than opposing guards. I feel him, or Noel will be one of the few (maybe 3) players in this draft with any small pinch of all-star potential.

Hindsight is 20-20. Today, obviously, not many people would trade Lowry for the #12 pick. However when Colangelo made that trade he was basically projecting Lowry to be better than the #4 pick. That was the risk involved, and I wouldn't make that trade today. The only thing that makes me feel better about this trade today is that Trey Burke is climbing the charts and looking like he'll be taken in the top 3.

To clarify I'm not saying we will drafted 4th. I'm saying at the time of the trade the risk was that the pick we traded could be as high as 4th. Thus, in Colangelo's mind Lowry was better than a 4th overall pick, albeit in a weaker draft. But as we all know, even in a weak draft good players can be had. And this trade was made 4 months in advance of the start of the NCAA basketball season.

The only thing that makes me feel better about the trade is that Trey Burke is shooting up the rankings and will be taken in the top 3.

Hindsight is 20-20. Today, obviously, not many people would trade Lowry for the #12 pick. However when Colangelo made that trade he was basically projecting Lowry to be better than the #4 pick. That was the risk involved, and I wouldn't make that trade today. The only thing that makes me feel better about this trade today is that Trey Burke is climbing the charts and looking like he'll be taken in the top 3.

To clarify I'm not saying we will drafted 4th. I'm saying at the time of the trade the risk was that the pick we traded could be as high as 4th. Thus, in Colangelo's mind Lowry was better than a 4th overall pick, albeit in a weaker draft. But as we all know, even in a weak draft good players can be had. And this trade was made 4 months in advance of the start of the NCAA basketball season.

The only thing that makes me feel better about the trade is that Trey Burke is shooting up the rankings and will be taken in the top 3.

I disagree. Worst case scenario, it was 4th pick. The flip side? Best case scenario is that it was the 30th pick. You need to look at the likelihood. BC was gambling that, with a healthy Bargnani (this was before his offensive abilities plummeted), and a solid PG rotation of Lowry/Jose, we'd be in the playoffs and thus out of the lottery. Lottery protecting the pick is a due diligence made so we don't end up like the Clippers missing out on Irving (for example).

Houston probably made the trade because they didn't believe we'd make the playoffs, and would end up somewhere in the lottery. Were they expecting the 4th pick? I doubt it, even though it may be what they hoped for.

I disagree. Worst case scenario, it was 4th pick. The flip side? Best case scenario is that it was the 30th pick. You need to look at the likelihood. BC was gambling that, with a healthy Bargnani (this was before his offensive abilities plummeted), and a solid PG rotation of Lowry/Jose, we'd be in the playoffs and thus out of the lottery. Lottery protecting the pick is a due diligence made so we don't end up like the Clippers missing out on Irving (for example).

Houston probably made the trade because they didn't believe we'd make the playoffs, and would end up somewhere in the lottery. Were they expecting the 4th pick? I doubt it, even though it may be what they hoped for.

It was never going to be the 30th pick, or any pick outside of the lottery for that matter. Yes, there are some small protections in place for the Raptors (top 3 this year, top 2 next year, top 1 every year after that), but it also had 15-30 protection on Houston's end until 2018. This was always going to be a pick somewhere between 3-14 unless the Raptors reeled off an improbable string of 6 straight playoff experiences.

The deal on it's face is fine. The chances of finding a better player than Lowry at #12 aren't great, and certainly not in the short term. However I'm not sold on Lowry as the PG of the future, and it seems like one of two things are bound to happen with him in the next year A) He walks as a free agent next summer or B) They lock him up for a long-term, big money extension (4 years/ $40 millionish). If you're sold on Lowry as the guy to lead this team then option B shouldn't scare you. I'm not one of those people though. Pretty much every part of BC's "accelerated rebuild" has frustrated me - chasing Nash, trading the lottery pick for Lowry, going all in on Gay, etc.

It was never going to be the 30th pick, or any pick outside of the lottery for that matter. Yes, there are some small protections in place for the Raptors (top 3 this year, top 2 next year, top 1 every year after that), but it also had 15-30 protection on Houston's end until 2018. This was always going to be a pick somewhere between 3-14 unless the Raptors reeled off an improbable string of 6 straight playoff experiences.

The deal on it's face is fine. The chances of finding a better player than Lowry at #12 aren't great, and certainly not in the short term. However I'm not sold on Lowry as the PG of the future, and it seems like one of two things are bound to happen with him in the next month. A) He walks as a free agent this summer or B) They lock him up for a long-term, big money extension (4 years/ $40 millionish). If you're sold on Lowry as the guy to lead this team then option B shouldn't scare you. I'm not one of those people though. Pretty much every part of BC's "accelerated rebuild" has frustrated me - chasing Nash, trading the lottery pick for Lowry, going all in on Gay, etc.

I think this makes my point better. If the pick was meant to land between 4-14, and it landed on 12, then it was a fantastic gamble.

Look, I disagree with the accelerated rebuild. I would have much preferred to keep the pick, not extend DeRozan (yet), not trade for Gay, and let our boys play out a season. But if we're judging the trade and only the trade, the Raptors won because they got the more talented piece... unless the #12 pick turns out to be a better player than Lowry, which is doubtful in this weak draft.

Why trade lowry for a draft pick then wait another 3 years to develop the kid we picked? There is no guarantee that whoever we pick will be better than lowry (they probably won't). So this is not a great idea IMO

I think this makes my point better. If the pick was meant to land between 4-14, and it landed on 12, then it was a fantastic gamble.

Look, I disagree with the accelerated rebuild. I would have much preferred to keep the pick, not extend DeRozan (yet), not trade for Gay, and let our boys play out a season. But if we're judging the trade and only the trade, the Raptors won because they got the more talented piece... unless the #12 pick turns out to be a better player than Lowry, which is doubtful in this weak draft.

It was a fantastic gamble because we landed with 12, but it still comes down to a bad decision on Colangelo's part because of the risk involved. Listen, if Lowry was a guy I saw as the future point guard of the team then I'd say even risking the #4 would have been worth it. But I didn't see it that way then and I certainly don't see it that way now. Personally I still doubt whether Lowry is a starting caliber point guard.

Why trade lowry for a draft pick then wait another 3 years to develop the kid we picked? There is no guarantee that whoever we pick will be better than lowry (they probably won't). So this is not a great idea IMO

I doubt it would take 3 years. Typically guards or wing players only take 1-2 years, and that's who we'd be targeting. Especially if we hadn't traded for Lowry because Calderon would have expired and we'd be looking for a replacement ie: Trey Burke.